Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• A monstrous Sphinx appears inside the Presidential Palace, terrifying the officials and experts gathered there. Its presence seems to distort the room: Cornelius finds the exit has vanished.
• Palace guards fire at the creature, but the bullets stop in midair. Sphinx then attacks and kills the guards with its claws.
• Sphinx announces a deadly game: it will ask a question and leave if someone answers correctly; anyone who refuses or fails will be killed and eaten.
• With no way to escape and weapons useless, the humans reluctantly face the challenge.
• Sphinx’s “simple” question is to prove the Goldbach conjecture: every even number greater than two can be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers.

Character developments

• Cornelius shifts from alarm to desperate flight, then realizes the palace offers no escape.
• The experts and officials are initially paralyzed by fear, but some begin weighing the danger of stepping forward against leaving their fate to others.
• Sphinx is presented as cruel, theatrical, and confident, using jokes and a seemingly fair challenge to heighten the humans’ terror.

Significant themes

• Myth versus reality: Sphinx’s behavior differs from familiar myths, underscoring how unreliable human accounts of the supernatural may be.
• The limits of modern power: Guns and secure government buildings offer no protection against a mythical being.
• Knowledge under pressure: A difficult mathematical conjecture becomes a life-or-death test.
• Coercion disguised as choice: Sphinx offers the humans a game, but both refusal and failure mean death.

Character interactions

• Sphinx taunts the assembled humans, alternately assuring and threatening them.
• Guards attempt to protect Cornelius and the others by attacking Sphinx, but are killed almost immediately.
• The experts silently look to one another for someone to take the lead, each recognizing that a correct answer could save everyone—while failure could doom them all.

Key plot points and events

• A lion Sphinx challenges the experts gathered at the Presidential Palace to prove the Goldbach Conjecture: every even number greater than 2 is the sum of two primes.
• The scholars realize the problem is famously unsolved and that their expertise lies in folklore and theology, not mathematics. They remain silent, hoping the Sphinx will not mistake anyone’s movements for an answer.
• The Sphinx calls on President Cornelius, who redirects the question to Gaius. Gaius is terrified and privately asks Cornelius for help, but the president refuses.
• With the Sphinx threatening to eat him, Gaius suddenly claims he knows how to prove the conjecture—provided he can find someone to assist him.

Character developments and interactions

• Gaius moves from panic and disbelief to a desperate bluff, claiming he has a proof in order to buy time and recruit help.
• Cornelius avoids responsibility by passing the challenge to Gaius, then leaves him to face the danger alone. His inner thoughts reveal his ignorance of mathematics and anger at the problem.
• The Sphinx is confident and impatient, treating the conjecture as a simple question and threatening anyone unable to answer.
• The experts communicate silently, sharing their helplessness and fear rather than speaking aloud.

Significant themes

• Limits of expertise: Knowledge in one field does not equip the scholars to solve a problem from another.
• The gap between confidence and reality: The Sphinx’s belief in human intelligence contrasts with the scholars’ awareness that the conjecture has defeated generations of mathematicians.
• Fear and self-preservation: Under threat, Gaius resorts to a claim that may be a bluff just to stay alive.
• Humor through contrast: The grand reputation of an ancient monster is set against its unexpected interest in a mathematical problem, while Cornelius’s absurd resentment of Goldbach adds comic relief.

Key plot points and events

• The Sphinx reveals that it can read people’s thoughts, repeatedly voicing Gaius’s and Patrick’s inner monologues. It explains that the powers described in human myths are incomplete and identifies itself as a magic beast, not a demon.
• Patrick tries to block the Sphinx by emptying his mind, but realizes that thinking about how to resist it defeats the attempt. The Sphinx is impressed by his quick reasoning.
• The Sphinx gives the assembled officials and scholars one minute to solve the Goldbach Conjecture, threatening to eat them if they fail. It also taunts them to fight, but they know they lack the demigod strength needed to challenge it.
• As time expires, President Cornelius chooses to reveal Greece’s trump card: he offers the Golden Apple to the fairest goddess. Rainbow light fills the palace, and an armed goddess appears.

Character developments and interactions

• Gaius is startled by the Sphinx’s mind-reading and struggles to keep his thoughts from giving him away.
• Patrick demonstrates quick thinking and composure, briefly finding a way to quiet his mind before recognizing the flaw in his strategy.
• Cornelius weighs the danger against the importance of preserving the Golden Apple, then prioritizes saving everyone in the palace.
• The Sphinx toys with the humans, exposing their thoughts and using the impossible challenge to heighten their fear. Patrick’s reasoning earns its interest, while the others are left powerless.

Significant themes

• Myth versus reality: Human accounts of the gods and magic beasts are incomplete.
• The limits of human knowledge and power: The scholars cannot solve the Sphinx’s challenge in time, and ordinary people cannot fight it physically.
• Ingenuity under pressure: Patrick’s attempt to counter mind-reading shows human adaptability, even though the Sphinx can still hear his thoughts.
• Sacrifice and leadership: Cornelius risks revealing a powerful national asset to protect the people in immediate danger.

Chapter Summary: “The Goddesses’ Feud”

Key plot points and events

• Athena appears in the Presidential Palace just as the assembled Greek experts and scholars fear for their lives. Recognizing her as a formidable warrior as well as the goddess of wisdom, they urgently perform worship rites and praise her.
• President Cornelius is holding the Golden Apple, which he had planned to offer to Hera in hopes of gaining favor and protection. Seeing Athena instead, he realizes that openly naming Hera could provoke Athena, given their legendary hostility.
• Athena notices the apple and asks which goddess Cornelius intended to receive it. He starts to offer it to Athena—but a flood suddenly fills the palace, interrupting him.
• Aphrodite arrives on a shell amid the waves and asks whether the apple is meant for her. Her beauty briefly enchants Cornelius, nearly making him hand it over, until Athena strikes her scepter against the ground and breaks the spell.
• Aphrodite explains that mortals always award the Golden Apple to her because she is the pantheon’s most beautiful goddess. The scene reveals that she and Athena are repeating their old contest over the apple, this time making Cornelius the judge.
• As Cornelius anxiously searches for a way to escape the impossible choice, a Golden Throne appears and a crowned god arrives, setting up another divine intervention.

Character developments and interactions

• Cornelius shifts from a calculated plan to appease Hera to panic as Athena and Aphrodite both claim the apple. His internal thoughts show that his aim is to help Greece, not become entangled in divine rivalry.
• Athena is introduced as powerful, composed, and alert to the apple’s significance. She confronts Cornelius with a direct question and interrupts Aphrodite’s enchantment with a forceful strike.
• Aphrodite uses her beauty and charm to influence Cornelius, while confidently asserting her superiority. Her exchange with Athena makes clear that their rivalry is longstanding.
• The scholars and experts begin in terror, then eagerly worship Athena, but their attention shifts to the Golden Apple when they realize Cornelius possesses it.
• The central interaction is the rivalry between Athena and Aphrodite, with Cornelius unwillingly caught between them.

Significant themes

• Mortals caught in divine conflicts: Cornelius’s political and national ambitions are eclipsed by the goddesses’ personal feud.
• Power, beauty, and influence: Athena commands through martial authority, while Aphrodite exerts a more seductive influence.
• The dangers of making an impossible choice: The Golden Apple turns a simple offering into a high-stakes judgment between rival gods.
• Myth meeting modern life: Cornelius imagines resolving the dispute through an impartial modern beauty-pageant system, underscoring the absurdity of divine politics intruding into the present.

Key plot points

• Hera descends into the Presidential Palace, and the assembled mortals immediately kneel, wary of her reputation for punishing anyone who offends her.
• Sphinx, who had been hiding from Athena, rushes to Hera’s side and fawns over her, revealing Hera as the lion’s mistress.
• Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each demand the Golden Apple from Cornelius. Each offers a reward and threatens to withdraw something she previously granted him:
  • Athena promises wisdom and strength.
  • Aphrodite offers marriage to the most beautiful woman and threatens to take away his looks.
  • Hera promises supreme power and threatens his authority.
• Cornelius recognizes that the dispute is really about which goddess deserves the title of “most beautiful,” not about the apple itself. After weighing the goddesses’ relative power, he awards it to Athena.

Character developments and interactions

• Cornelius is thrust into a dangerous role resembling Paris’s judgment in myth. Though anxious and aware that no choice is safe, he makes a calculated decision in Athena’s favor, valuing her power and standing.
• Hera arrives with commanding authority and immediately asserts her claim, reinforcing her fearsome reputation.
• Athena uses both a direct command and the offer of renewed wisdom and strength to press her case.
• Aphrodite appeals to Cornelius’s vanity and desire for an ideal bride, while threatening to revoke his beauty.
• Sphinx shifts from hiding in fear of Athena to eagerly courting Hera, showing her loyalty—and survival instincts—toward her mistress.
• The mortals’ instinctive submission contrasts with their usual pride: they regard being noticed by a goddess as an honor, even when her gaze is condescending.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: The goddesses’ offers are inseparable from threats, leaving Cornelius little genuine freedom.
• The danger of judgment: Like Paris, Cornelius must choose between divine rivals, and his decision may carry consequences beyond the immediate reward.
• Fear and hierarchy: The mortals’ reverence reflects the overwhelming power gap between gods and humans.
• Appearance versus true power: The apple symbolizes beauty, but Cornelius considers divine rank and strength when deciding whom to favor.

Summary

President Cornelius offers the Golden Apple to Athena, despite Hera’s superior rank and Aphrodite’s legendary beauty. He chooses Athena because he fears losing his wisdom more than his appearance or political power.
Aphrodite curses him first, making his already ordinary looks hideously ugly. Hera then strips him of the protection of royal authority, leaving his political power doomed. Athena honors his offering, granting him immense strength and wisdom. Cornelius learns that extraordinary beings draw divine power from their gods through worship and communion.
Though thrilled by his new abilities, Cornelius senses a threatening gaze and remembers that he has offended Hera and Aphrodite. He humbles himself before the goddesses, but they disappear before he learns what further consequences may await him. He then announces that he will resign as president and become Athena’s priest. Before stepping down, he intends to use his new power to fight the demons outside and asks the gathered people to help.

Character developments and interactions

• Cornelius moves from fearful political leader to devoted follower of Athena. He accepts losing his appearance and presidency, but regards the preservation of his wisdom—and the power Athena gives him—as paramount.
• Athena rewards Cornelius’s devotion with wisdom and strength, establishing a bond through which he can draw divine power.
• Hera and Aphrodite punish Cornelius for defying their will: Aphrodite curses his appearance, while Hera condemns his political authority.
• Cornelius’s final appeal to the assembled experts and scholars shifts from a personal plea for divine protection to a call for collective action against the demons.

Significant themes

• Divine power and dependence: Extraordinary strength comes from a god and depends on maintaining a faithful connection.
• The cost of defiance: Choosing one deity over others brings real consequences, even when the chosen goddess grants a reward.
• Changing priorities: Cornelius is willing to surrender beauty and political status, but not wisdom.
• Faith expressed through action: His decision to become Athena’s priest—and fight the demons—turns his offering into a public commitment.

Plot points

• Cornelius, having received Athena’s blessing, decides to resign rather than risk defying a god. The palace officials are shocked but understand that resisting divine will is dangerous.
• His colleagues urge him to remain in office—not only because Greece needs him, but because they would rather he continue carrying the blame for the country’s devastating crisis.
• Cornelius agrees to stay president until the crisis is over, on the condition that the officials help him eliminate the demons outside.
• The officials ask him to teach them how to gain supernatural powers, hoping to make Greece a world power. Cornelius explains that such power requires approval from a god.
• He prays to Athena and receives divine power, which forms golden armor around him. Demonstrating his strength by punching through a wall, he calls on the others to help fight the demons.

Character developments

• Cornelius accepts that divine authority outranks political power, but remains a calculating politician. He recognizes the officials’ self-interest and agrees to carry on because Greece—and Athena’s faith—still need their support.
• His new relationship with Athena gives him both supernatural strength and a potential role beyond the presidency.

Character interactions

• Palace officials first react with sympathy or envy to Cornelius’s impending resignation, then try to persuade him to stay so they can avoid inheriting the crisis.
• Cornelius bargains with them, demanding their cooperation against the demons.
• The officials seek divine power for themselves; Cornelius explains the requirement for a god’s approval and demonstrates Athena’s power firsthand.

Significant themes

• Divine power versus political authority: A god’s will can override a human leader’s position.
• Political self-interest: The officials’ pleas for Cornelius to stay are driven largely by a desire to leave the burden of the crisis with him.
• Power and national ambition: The officials hope supernatural abilities could elevate Greece, but access to such power depends on the gods.
• Responsibility in crisis: Cornelius accepts further burdens, even while recognizing that others may be exploiting his position.

Plot points and events

• Trapped in demon-threatened Athens, Egyptian streamer Krov tries to hire a helicopter to escape, but flights are grounded and no company will take him. He livestreams while asking viewers for help; they mostly tease him or speculate about the danger.
• A golden streak crashes nearby, shaking the ground. Krov runs toward the voice calling for demons to leave Athens, invoking the city’s connection to Athena.
• He finds Cornelius, a radiant, golden-armored man confronting the demons. Krov assumes he may be a real-life Gold Saint from Saint Seiya, and his viewers argue over whether the series could be based on actual mythology.
• Cornelius notices Krov watching and turns toward him, sending the livestream chat into a frenzy.

Character developments

• Krov shifts from anxious, practical attempts to escape toward fascinated curiosity when he sees Cornelius. His livestream audience offers little genuine help, heightening his sense of helplessness.
• Cornelius appears as a confident defender of Athens, expressing devotion to Athena and confronting the demonic invasion.

Character interactions

• Krov appeals to his livestream viewers for a way out; they respond with jokes, dark humor, and pop-culture debate.
• Cornelius addresses the invading demons and then notices Krov, creating a moment of direct attention between the two.

Significant themes

• Crisis and spectacle: Even amid mortal danger, viewers treat events as entertainment.
• Myth meeting modern life: Ancient Greek legends and popular fiction become frameworks for interpreting a supernatural invasion.
• Faith and protection: Cornelius’s invocation of Athena presents the goddess as a source of civic identity and hope.

Key plot points and events

• Viewers watching Krov’s livestream mock Cornelius’s unusually ugly appearance, questioning whether he can really be a Saint Seiya.
• Cornelius senses the viewers’ hostility and realizes it comes from the online comments. He briefly considers whether Aphrodite’s curse is responsible for their ill will.
• He reshapes his armor into a Saint Seiya-style cloth and transforms his appearance into that of a tall, strikingly handsome young man. The viewers immediately switch from insults to exaggerated praise and attempts to win his favor.
• A Minotaur arrives. Cornelius recognizes it and recalls that it had previously been badly burned in a missile attack while he was trapped by the Sphinx.
• The Minotaur envelops Cornelius and Krov in a yellow haze and transports them to a dark stone labyrinth. It challenges Cornelius to find the exit: if he succeeds, the Minotaur will die; if he fails, he will be trapped forever.

Character developments and interactions

• Cornelius keeps his anger under control despite the viewers’ insults, then uses his armor to conceal the appearance Aphrodite’s curse has left him with. His quick adaptation shows practical ingenuity, though he is bemused by the audience’s sudden change of attitude.
• Krov is caught off guard when Cornelius takes his phone and streaming equipment, but remains present as the Minotaur transports them.
• The livestream viewers shift from mockery to fear and flattery once the supernatural seems capable of reaching them. Their reactions provide a comic contrast to the danger unfolding.
• The Minotaur confronts Cornelius directly and uses its power to draw him and Krov into its labyrinth, turning the encounter into a deadly contest.

Significant themes

• Appearance and perception: Cornelius’s ugliness prompts ridicule, while his handsome disguise instantly earns admiration.
• Online behavior and accountability: The viewers’ confidence in insulting someone fades once they believe supernatural consequences may be real.
• Adaptation and danger: Cornelius’s disguise solves a social problem, but he is soon forced into a much greater physical challenge.

Key plot points and events

• Krov and Cornelius find themselves inside the Minotaur Labyrinth, whose unseen voice challenges them to escape.
• While Krov livestreams, viewers debate the labyrinth’s connection to Greek mythology and notice that Cornelius and Krov have been descending for more than half an hour without reaching an exit.
• Cornelius marks a step with a dent. After they continue, they encounter that same step again, revealing that the endless-looking staircase loops back on itself.
• Cornelius punches into the surrounding darkness. Golden light exposes stairs arranged in a square, with connections that defy ordinary three-dimensional logic. Krov recognizes the structure as resembling the Penrose Stairs.

Character developments

• Krov remains frightened and dependent on Cornelius, but uses the livestream and its viewers to identify that their progress is impossible.
• Cornelius stays composed and investigative. When the staircase’s loop becomes clear, he acts decisively, using the knowledge he received from Athena to probe the darkness.

Significant themes

• Reality defying logic: The staircase loops despite appearing to descend continuously, and its revealed layout cannot be understood in ordinary space.
• Mystery and myth: The chapter blends Greek mythology with strange phenomena, while viewers argue over what is legend and what is real.
• Fear and human curiosity: The darkness terrifies Krov, but the group’s investigation—and the viewers’ speculation—continues.

Character interactions

• Krov follows Cornelius closely, questioning him and seeking reassurance as they descend.
• The livestream chat serves as an outside observer, spotting the repeated staircase and offering theories.
• Cornelius and Krov work together: Krov conveys the viewers’ observations, and Cornelius tests the labyrinth’s apparent rules.

Key plot points and events

• Cornelius and Krov encounter the Penrose Stairs, an apparently endless staircase that loops without reaching a top or bottom. Viewers identify it as a supposedly impossible geometric paradox.
• Krov searches for information and learns that the stairs have no known solution. Frightened, he begins to distance himself from Cornelius, aware that desperation could make people turn on one another.
• Cornelius refuses to accept being trapped. He powers up with golden light, invokes Athena, and attacks the stairs with a blast he calls Athena Exclamation. The explosion overwhelms Krov’s vision and leaves the livestream viewers unable to see what happens next.

Character developments

• Cornelius remains determined and resourceful, choosing force when ordinary escape seems impossible. He also sees the situation as an opportunity to strengthen Greece’s image by encouraging the world to believe its superhumans resemble the powerful Saints from Saint Seiya.
• Krov shifts from seeking answers to fearing for his survival. He continues filming, hoping the spectacle will draw viewers and attention.

Significant themes

• Strategic bluffing and propaganda: Cornelius wants to turn the viewers’ Saint Seiya comparisons into a political advantage for Greece.
• Knowledge versus power: The staircase defeats conventional reasoning, so Cornelius responds with supernatural force.
• Fear and survival: Krov’s growing mistrust highlights how confinement and scarcity can threaten cooperation.
• Reality defying theory: The impossible stairs challenge the viewers’ assumptions about what can exist.

Character interactions

• Krov asks Cornelius how to escape, but Cornelius is absorbed in the problem and does not answer.
• Krov turns to the livestream audience, whose joking, fatalistic replies deepen his alarm.
• The viewers interpret Cornelius’s golden aura and attack through the lens of Saint Seiya, unknowingly aligning with the image Cornelius hopes to promote.

Key plot points and events

• The U.S. White House watches Krov’s livestream after satellite tracking of him and the mysterious Saint Seiya fails.
• A theologian identifies the Saint Seiya’s golden attack as Athena’s Exclamation, a forbidden technique said to possess extraordinary destructive power and bring severe punishment upon its user. The White House discusses how the Saint Seiya compares with other known supernatural figures.
• The attack fades, revealing extensive cracks across the Minotaur Labyrinth’s Penrose Stairs.
• Cornelius declares he will destroy the labyrinth rather than remain trapped. The Minotaur emerges and attacks him with a huge axe, and their clash causes the stone steps to collapse.
• Krov falls as the ground gives way. A force knocks him upward and out into daylight, apparently saving him.

Character developments and interactions

• Hodgson, the U.S. president, is fascinated by the attack and asks who among the world’s known supernatural figures is strongest.
• The theologian explains the attack and tentatively ranks the figures, favoring the Norseman based on his record of killing Jormungandr. He also notes that the late Angel of Redemption might have ranked first.
• Cornelius shows confidence and defiance by choosing to destroy the labyrinth, then directly faces the Minotaur.
• Krov remains an ordinary, frightened observer. As the floor collapses, he panics and looks to Cornelius for help before being propelled to safety.
• The Minotaur’s furious response marks the first direct confrontation between it and Cornelius in this scene.

Significant themes

• Myth and modernity: Governments use livestreams and satellite surveillance to witness powers rooted in ancient mythology.
• Power and uncertainty: The world tries to rank supernatural beings, but their records are incomplete and not directly comparable.
• Forbidden power and its cost: Athena’s Exclamation is presented as immensely powerful but associated with divine punishment.
• Human vulnerability amid the supernatural: Krov’s fear contrasts sharply with Cornelius’s resolve and the scale of the combat.

Key events

• Viewers’ comments celebrate the escape from the Penrose staircase and speculate that Cornelius is a Saint Seiya, while some offer large sums for a Black Cloth.
• As the Minotaur charges Cornelius with his Giant Axe, Cornelius catches the weapon with his golden-armored hands. He reasons that the Minotaur may no longer be able to revive, since Cornelius destroyed the labyrinth where the creature was reborn.
• Cornelius imitates Seiya and unleashes Pegasus Meteor Fist, killing the Minotaur in seconds. The livestream audience is stunned, though the narration notes that this display is far below the move’s legendary maximum potential.
• In the United States, an adviser urges President Hodgson to reconsider Greece’s supernatural strength and pursue closer ties, suggesting economic support in exchange for access to Greek supernatural power.
• Other mythical Demons, apparently alarmed by the Minotaur’s death, abandon their attack on the Greek Army and gather around Cornelius and Krov.

Character developments and interactions

• Cornelius shows confidence and ingenuity: he uses the Minotaur’s dependence on its labyrinth to question its ability to return, then turns to a famous Saint Seiya technique to defeat it.
• Krov is relieved to be safe after reading the viewers’ comments, and vows to avoid future supernatural incidents. He remains with Cornelius as the Minotaur attacks.
• The viewers shift from playful speculation to awe and fear as Cornelius demonstrates overwhelming power.
• The American adviser interprets the battle as evidence that Greece may possess the world’s strongest supernatural forces and presses Hodgson to change policy.

Significant themes

• Myth and reality blur: The audience and governments treat the Saint Seiya legends as potentially grounded in real history.
• Power reshapes politics: Cornelius’s victory immediately alters American strategic thinking about Greece.
• The limits of demonstrated strength: The narrator emphasizes that Cornelius’s version of Pegasus Meteor Fist is only a fraction of its imagined potential, leaving open how powerful such abilities could become.

Plot and events

• Demons from Greek myth confront Cornelius and Krov after the Minotaur’s defeat. Their wounds quickly heal because they can regenerate with magic unless struck by Mystic Power or drained of their magic.
• Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon, angrily challenges the pair over the Minotaur’s death, while Krov retreats from the deafening roar.
• Cornelius warns the demons that Greece is protected by Athena. Though frightened and aware that he is facing beings far beyond ordinary human strength, he stands his ground and gives them a chance to leave.
• The demons respond with overwhelming force: Cerberus grows forty-seven hidden heads and spreads poison and venom, Chimera sends fireballs raining from the sky, and Cyclops advances through the poison unharmed.
• Onlookers watching the confrontation debate the demons’ strength and the accuracy of ancient accounts. Many fear that Cornelius cannot defeat them, especially Cyclops, whose divine ancestry makes him seem nearly godlike.

Character development and interactions

• Cornelius is scared but determined to represent Greece’s supernaturals with courage, hoping Athena is watching. He bluffs confidence with a dramatic anime-inspired pose and a final warning.
• Krov is overwhelmed by Ladon’s roar and backs away, contrasting with Cornelius’s effort to hold his ground.
• Ladon reacts emotionally to the Minotaur’s death, treating the loss of a fellow monster as a reason to threaten Cornelius and Krov.
• Cerberus, Chimera, and Cyclops display their formidable powers, making clear that the demons intend to overwhelm the defenders rather than heed Cornelius’s warning.
• The watching crowd exchanges observations and speculation, mixing fear with scholarly debate about mythology and the creatures’ abilities.

Significant themes

• Courage in the face of overwhelming danger: Cornelius is terrified, yet chooses to confront the demons.
• Myth versus reality: The demons’ appearances and abilities challenge familiar versions of Greek myths, prompting debate over how stories changed over time.
• The limits of human strength: The crowd’s uncertainty about whether a mortal can defeat Cyclops underscores the gap between humans and near-divine beings.
• Protection and responsibility: Cornelius invokes Athena’s guardianship, accepting responsibility for defending Greece even when victory seems unlikely.

Key plot points and events

• Cyclops confronts Cornelius, blaming him for killing Minotaur and threatening to use his blood and soul to avenge their fallen ally.
• Harpy dives at Krov, whose body has been paralyzed. Cornelius intervenes with the Pegasus Meteor Fist, blasting Harpy away.
• Cerberus fills the air with poison. Cornelius’s armor covers him, and he raises a shield to protect Krov from the poisonous rain.
• Cornelius carries Krov to the walls of Athens and entrusts him to an army doctor. Meanwhile, missiles launched from the Presidential Palace clear the poison and badly wound the demons—but their injuries quickly heal.
• Expecting to face the demons alone, Cornelius invokes Athena and prepares to fight. Before the confrontation begins, the sky cracks like glass and then shatters, revealing devastation beyond it.

Character developments

• Cornelius acts decisively to protect Krov and shows compassion as well as courage. Though he wonders whether Athena will help him, he resolves to stand and fight even if she does not.
• Krov is terrified and helpless under Harpy’s attack and Cerberus’s poison, but Cornelius’s intervention gets him to safety.
• The army doctor is drawn to Cornelius and eagerly takes responsibility for treating Krov.

Character interactions

• Cyclops threatens Cornelius, framing the demons’ attack as revenge for Minotaur.
• Cornelius protects Krov from Harpy and Cerberus, then personally hands him over to the doctor.
• The doctor tries to connect with Cornelius by asking whether he uses Twitter, but he politely declines and returns to face the demons.
• Human forces support Cornelius with a missile strike, though it proves only briefly effective against the demons.

Significant themes

• Courage without certainty: Cornelius chooses to fight despite doubting whether Athena will answer his prayers.
• Compassion and heroism: Protecting Krov is as central to Cornelius’s actions as confronting the demons.
• Human power versus supernatural threats: Modern weapons can injure the demons, but their rapid healing makes conventional force seem inadequate.
• A world breaking open: The shattered sky introduces a sudden, larger mystery and signals that the conflict extends beyond the battlefield.

Key plot points and events

• Ragnarok is underway in Asgard. Fire and floods ravage the land as Fire Giants, Frost Giants, Magic Beasts, and countless Undead attack the gods’ Golden Palace. Einherjar fight back, while Nidhogg circles overhead and Hati and Skoll pursue the sun and moon.
• The battle appears connected to Blue Star. Livestream viewers in Athens recognize the scene as matching Norse prophecy, especially after Jormungandr’s earlier disturbance of the Pacific. They fear the rupture between worlds could bring Ragnarok—and its enormous Undead armies—to Earth.
• A new mountain appears beside the Golden Palace. It resembles Mount Olympus, complete with greenery, flowing water, a palace, and gods feasting to music that seems to quiet the battlefield.
• Odin smiles at its arrival. Viewers speculate that the Olympian and Norse gods have formed an alliance, perhaps offering the Norse gods a chance to resist their foretold defeat.

Character developments and interactions

• Odin is the only Norse god shown reacting positively to the mountain, suggesting he recognizes it as meaningful help.
• The Norse gods regard the feasting Olympians with uneasy familiarity: the Olympians’ extravagance reminds them of their own former decadence, before Ragnarok forced them to face their end.
• The Olympian gods appear detached from the battle, feasting and enjoying a performance on their mountain.
• Viewers debate the crisis and the gods’ prospects. Some cling to the idea that fate is fixed; others argue that outside intervention—particularly an Olympian alliance—could change the outcome. They also argue over whether the Egyptian god Ra could help.

Significant themes

• Fate versus intervention: Ragnarok is presented as an unavoidable prophecy, but the mountain’s arrival raises the possibility that alliances may alter its course.
• Human vulnerability: The threat makes viewers realize how helpless modern humanity would be against the scale of divine warfare.
• Decadence and awakening: The Olympians’ celebration contrasts with the Norse gods’ grim struggle, recalling how the Norse once lived before confronting their fate.
• Myth becoming reality: Prophecies and legendary beings are unfolding across connected worlds, making mythology an immediate threat to ordinary people.

Key plot points and events

• Krov’s livestream of events in Athens reached more than fifty million viewers, drawing worldwide media attention. Outlets raced to rebroadcast it, while editors avoided sensational headlines that might anger the gods.
• In Asgard, the Olympians felt the dying natural world’s pain. The Nymphs, deeply connected to nature, left in grief.
• Zeus took up his lightning scepter and obliterated vast numbers of undead and warships.
• Athena entered the Black Tide. The undead engulfed her, but a burst of power from her landing point erased them across a thousand-meter area.
• Encouraged by Athena’s success, the Olympian gods joined the battle: Poseidon opened a rift for reinforcements; Hades restored fallen warriors to life; and Apollo, Aphrodite, and Artemis swept across the battlefield in a blazing sun chariot.
• Odin threw Gungnir and killed Skoll, the wolf pursuing the sun.

Character developments and interactions

• The Olympians shift from observers to committed allies, moved by the destruction of nature and the suffering of their companions.
• Athena shows fearless resolve by plunging into the Black Tide; her power inspires the other gods to enter the fight.
• Zeus demonstrates overwhelming authority, while Poseidon and Hades use their powers to bring reinforcements and fallen warriors into the conflict.
• Apollo invites Aphrodite and Artemis onto his chariot, and they fight alongside him. Odin’s attack further signals the growing cooperation between the pantheons.

Significant themes

• Alliance against catastrophe: Greek and Norse gods unite against a common threat.
• Nature’s shared suffering: The Nymphs’ grief underscores that the devastation affects even beings outside Asgard.
• Revenge and resentment: The undead’s hatred of the living drives their invasion.
• The cost of divine power: The gods’ intervention reshapes the battlefield, while even the media fear the consequences of offending them.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Odin’s spear signals the start of Ragnarok, and the Norse gods descend into battle. Thor immediately attacks Loki with a storm of lightning, but Surtr intervenes, declaring himself Thor’s opponent.
• Thor and Surtr clash with Mjolnir and the Sword of Doom. Their weapons’ impact cracks space-time and projects the battlefield of Asgard into the sky above Stockholm, revealing that Asgard is connected to Blue Star.
• Stockholm’s residents panic, fearing the war could reach them. Many try to flee, while Odin’s worshippers pray for him to win.
• Giants pour into Asgard. Bergelmir, son of Ymir and an enemy of Odin, advances on the Golden Palace, but Freyr confronts him despite having given up his powerful Sword of Victory.
• Freyr and Bergelmir’s clash creates another rift, this time showing Ragnarok above Big Apple City. The city erupts into panic; unlike the Nordic countries, America has no acknowledged god to protect it.
• As a fighter jet heads toward the rift, the sun above Asgard suddenly falls toward Big Apple City, leaving the city in immediate danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Thor displays his characteristic rage and fearlessness, first attacking Loki and then charging Surtr without hesitation.
• Loki remains openly contemptuous of Thor. Their hostility is explained through the myth of Loki’s affair with Thor’s wife, Sif, and Loki’s public exposure of it.
• Surtr shields Loki from Thor’s lightning and challenges Thor directly, setting up a clash between two immense powers.
• Bergelmir fights to avenge his father, Ymir, whom Odin and his brothers killed. Freyr bravely blocks his advance, relying on an antler rather than the Sword of Victory he surrendered to win Gerd.
• Blue Star’s people respond differently to the divine conflict: Stockholm residents depend on Odin’s protection, while Big Apple City’s residents feel abandoned and helpless.

Significant themes

• Myth versus popular culture: The chapter distinguishes the mythological gods from their modern fictional portrayals, especially in describing Thor and Loki as enemies.
• The mortal consequences of divine conflict: The gods’ battle breaks the boundary between worlds, turning distant mythology into an immediate threat to ordinary people.
• Faith and protection: People’s safety and sense of security depend on which gods they believe will protect them—or whether they believe any god cares about them.
• Sacrifice and courage: Freyr’s past choice to give up his sword for love leaves him at a disadvantage, but he still confronts Bergelmir.
• Escalating danger: Each clash makes Asgard’s war more visible and physically threatening to Blue Star, culminating in the falling sun threatening Big Apple City.

Key plot points and events

• A plane sent to investigate the rift to Asgard sees a gigantic sun falling toward Big Apple City. The pilot abandons the mission, but the plane is destroyed by the heat.
• The city descends into panic. In the White House, President Hodgson realizes that Big Apple City’s destruction would devastate the U.S. economy—and threaten his own wealth. His advisers have no solution.
• At the last moment, the sun contracts, revealing the sun goddess Sól seated on a battered chariot. The immediate threat appears to pass, and the city briefly falls silent in shock before Hodgson celebrates.
• Leaders abroad react according to their interests: Eastern Isles’ Tagawa Masamune regrets that America escaped disaster; Bear Nation’s Alexander is disappointed; and Maple Nation’s Guston is furious, having hoped to exploit America’s collapse.
• The scene shifts to Ragnarok, where the gods’ side—despite being badly outnumbered—has begun winning. Thor and Surtr fall; Poseidon kills Giant King Bergelmir; Odin kills Fenrir; and Frigg uses a fate-woven net and Freyr’s sword to kill Nidhogg.
• Heimdall beheads Loki and declares that Odin foresaw the events of the day and prepared for them. Loki’s fall marks a decisive victory for the gods.

Character developments and interactions

• Hodgson moves from fear and helplessness to exuberant relief, revealing that personal financial interests shape his concern for the city. He publicly praises both Jehovah and Kukulkan.
• Tagawa Masamune, Alexander, and Guston each view the potential disaster through a political lens, hoping to benefit from American weakness; their disappointment underscores their rivalry with the United States.
• The gods show coordinated resistance: Odin supports the battlefield effort, Poseidon strikes Bergelmir from behind, and Frigg turns the enemy’s apparent advantage into defeat.
• Heimdall confronts Loki after the battle turns and taunts him with Odin’s long-term planning. Loki remains unreadable until his apparent defeat.

Significant themes

• Disaster and self-interest: Leaders and officials respond to catastrophe not only with concern but with calculations about money, power, and national advantage.
• The limits of human control: The White House is powerless before a supernatural threat, while ordinary people can only flee.
• Fate versus preparation: Ragnarok may be foretold, but Odin’s extensive preparations help the gods overturn expectations.
• Reversal and uncertainty: What seems like an unstoppable falling sun becomes a chariot, and a battle expected to favor the enemies of the gods turns toward divine victory.

Plot points and events

• Humanity watches Ragnarok unfold, with public debate over Odin’s foresight, Frigg’s possession of Freyr’s Invincible Sword, and whether Loki’s apparent death was genuine.
• The gods gain the upper hand: Surtr, Bergelmir, Fenrir, Loki, and other enemies are defeated. Hades kills Hela, Athena imprisons Garm, and Ullr kills one of Fenrir’s sons. Without Hela, the dead cannot return.
• Odin approaches Loki’s headless body and reveals he knows Loki is still alive. Loki’s voice answers from the head Heimdall holds.
• Sif, grieving her husband Heimdall, threatens Loki. Loki taunts her by referring to their past affair, and Odin stops her from confronting him.
• Odin asks whether Loki would still have attacked Asgard if Odin had not imprisoned or banished Loki and his children. Loki says yes: Ragnarok was decreed by Orlog, a primordial force of fate, before the first world existed.
• Loki argues that every future leads to Ragnarok and the world’s destruction, and questions whether the gods’ apparent victory can change that destiny. He suggests time may have been rewound before.
• An ancient will awakens. Just as the gods are poised to celebrate, time across the Nine Worlds begins to run backward.

Character developments and interactions

• Odin appears victorious but remains troubled by the possibility that his choices—and even his victory—are governed by fate. He confronts Loki to understand whether their feud caused Ragnarok.
• Loki reveals he accepted Ragnarok as inevitable and uses the moment to unsettle the gods. His defiance and mockery continue even in defeat.
• Sif expresses intense grief and anger over Heimdall’s death; Loki’s taunt exposes a personal history between them.
• Heimdall rejects Loki’s claims, but Loki emphasizes the limits of his ability to see the future.
• The gods’ alliance has won the battle, yet their confidence collapses when time begins to reverse.

Significant themes

• Fate versus free will: Loki claims Orlog determines the world’s destruction, raising doubts about whether Odin’s actions can alter it.
• Cycles and repetition: The possibility that time has been rewound before suggests Ragnarok may recur across vast stretches of history.
• The limits of knowledge: Odin’s divination and Heimdall’s all-seeing sight may still be insufficient to grasp the ultimate force governing events.
• Victory and uncertainty: The gods’ battlefield triumph proves fragile when a power older than the world intervenes.